Over 4000 Free Science Books in PDF Format

The National Academies Press Makes All PDF Books Free to Download;
More Than 4,000 Titles Now Available Free to All Readers

WASHINGTON -- As of today all PDF versions of books published by the National Academies Press will be downloadable to anyone free of charge. This includes a current catalog of more than 4,000 books plus future reports produced by the Press. The mission of the National Academies Press (NAP) -- publisher for the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council -- is to disseminate the institutions' content as widely as possible while maintaining financial sustainability. To that end, NAP began offering free content online in 1994. Before today’s announcement, all PDFs were free to download in developing countries, and 65 percent of them were available for free to any user.

"Our business model has evolved so that it is now financially viable to put this content out to the entire world for free," said Barbara Kline Pope, executive director for the National Academies Press. "This is a wonderful opportunity to make a positive impact by more effectively sharing our knowledge and analyses."

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=06022011

Here are the books! Enjoy!

Good.

"Knowledge is good."

...

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=06022011

Here are the books! Enjoy!

Thank you for your excellent sense of humor. There was nothing to enjoy. I checked my field - atrocious greenpissing garbage, a lot of blue smoke and mirrors platitudes, plus "opportunities in chemistry" - a lot of opportunities, sure, when the average duration of a job search in the field inches close to one year. And nothing else. So, here is my considered opinion: mantrate them.

Gender Differences at Critical Transitions in the Careers of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Faculty

Ah, no thanks. You couldn't pay me to read the above and most of the other titles I saw.

...

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=06022011

Here are the books! Enjoy!

Thank you for your excellent sense of humor. There was nothing to enjoy. I checked my field - atrocious greenpissing garbage, a lot of blue smoke and mirrors platitudes, plus "opportunities in chemistry" - a lot of opportunities, sure, when the average duration of a job search in the field inches close to one year. And nothing else. So, here is my considered opinion: mantrate them.

+1

Nothing I'd waste a MB of disk space on.

I applaud making these docs free - for the .00000000001 % of the public that can even figure out what the title means.
'Blogging' has made 'real publishing' a joke.
It is good to share one's tech work with others, - but in my experience that happens anyway - especially in academia.

In other words, they could never recoup the costs of printing those titles and they would feel guilty about hurting the trees for the paper, too.

In other words, they could never recoup the costs of printing those titles and they would feel guilty about hurting the trees for the paper, too.

-
There is truth to your comment. There is value in not using paper(trees) to provide content, unless a hard copy is really needed. I've had paper books professionally published, or self-published paper book, and or ebook-published a number of books. If you have a low volume specialty book with a low 'price point', the paper printing costs (and order fulfillment (shipping) + marketing) is high, and there is no money in doing it (if you take into account your time and also the expenses). Hence the 'vanity press' printing industry.
I have used a number of national short-run paper book publishers, and they can be cost effective. The key is the limitations (on format and illustrations) and the fact that the book has to be completely ready-to-print-from-disk. There are also some really good paper-printing prices from the PRC, but you have to deal with shipping, payment and communications, etc.

Floyd Pinkus, I agree, but I was thinking this the publishing equivalent of tying a bone around an ugly kid's neck just to get the dog to play with him.

Floyd Pinkus, I agree, but I was thinking this the publishing equivalent of tying a bone around an ugly kid's neck just to get the dog to play with him.

-
Could you explain your analogy?

Floyd Pinkus, I agree, but I was thinking this the publishing equivalent of tying a bone around an ugly kid's neck just to get the dog to play with him.

Been pretty blue this morning but this made me laugh out loud. I really needed that. Thank you!!!

Floyd Pinkus, I agree, but I was thinking this the publishing equivalent of tying a bone around an ugly kid's neck just to get the dog to play with him.

-
Could you explain your analogy?

How about what we used in the military - " you can't polish a turd".

Floyd Pinkus, I agree, but I was thinking this the publishing equivalent of tying a bone around an ugly kid's neck just to get the dog to play with him.

-
Could you explain your analogy?

How about what we used in the military - " you can't polish a turd".

-
I get it. Perhaps its a way of saying "I'm published', but in fact its just a 'published' vain blog.
To me, real publishing involves some effort:
* A separate commercial publisher
* ISBN registration
* Available commercially (online is OK these days)
* An editor
* Content that has been reviewed by others (not just friends)

Putting a list together here for what might be interesting.

In the Light of Evolution:
Volume 1. Adaptation and Complex Design
http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11790

Science, Evolution, and Creationism
http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11876

(NAS Colloquium) Molecular Kinesis in Cellular Function and Plasticity
http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10359

(NAS Colloquium) The Future of Evolution
http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10499

The Search for Life's Origins:
Progress and Future Directions in Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution
http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=1541

From Molecules to Minds:
Challenges for the 21st Century: Workshop Summary
http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12220

Floyd Pinkus, I agree, but I was thinking this the publishing equivalent of tying a bone around an ugly kid's neck just to get the dog to play with him.

-
Could you explain your analogy?

How about what we used in the military - " you can't polish a turd".

-
I get it. Perhaps its a way of saying "I'm published', but in fact its just a 'published' vain blog.
To me, real publishing involves some effort:
* A separate commercial publisher
* ISBN registration
* Available commercially (online is OK these days)
* An editor
* Content that has been reviewed by others (not just friends)

I don't really mean to put down the authors of those works since they obviously put sweat and effort into something of interest to them. But the limited, and for some, the silly or PC scope of the works brings out my inner sarcasm.

Yep. These topics interest a nerd like me too. The fact that they are 'public' now is a different issue (this topic), in the sense they are narrow-scope/special interest topics for science people.
I do like the idea of sharing info, but the fact that it is published online or free does not make it true. But it sure is a way to share ideas, and thus it good. The reader just needs to keep in mind what they are reading. 'Non-Buyer Beware'.

In other words, they could never recoup the costs of printing those titles and they would feel guilty about hurting the trees for the paper, too.

Floyd Pinkus, I agree, but I was thinking this the publishing equivalent of tying a bone around an ugly kid's neck just to get the dog to play with him.

-
Could you explain your analogy?

How about what we used in the military - " you can't polish a turd".

-
I get it. Perhaps its a way of saying "I'm published', but in fact its just a 'published' vain blog.
To me, real publishing involves some effort:
* A separate commercial publisher
* ISBN registration
* Available commercially (online is OK these days)
* An editor
* Content that has been reviewed by others (not just friends)

I don't really mean to put down the authors of those works since they obviously put sweat and effort into something of interest to them. But the limited, and for some, the silly or PC scope of the works brings out my inner sarcasm.

There is a lot of crap in there, which is why I was trying to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Speaking of which...I cant seem to edit my post anymore.

There is a lot of crap in there, which is why I was trying to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Sturgeon's Law applies as much to writings of science fact as science fiction, as anyone who has done any peer review will tell you.

Floyd Pinkus, I agree, but I was thinking this the publishing equivalent of tying a bone around an ugly kid's neck just to get the dog to play with him.

-
Could you explain your analogy?

How about what we used in the military - " you can't polish a turd".

Actually you can.

http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/mythbus ... -turd.html